1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cowl-top cover, and in particular to a cowl-top cover which is arranged across a lower end part of a front window panel, a front hood, and a dash panel, of a vehicle. Moreover in particular, the present invention relates to a construction in the engaging portion of a cowl-top cover engaging with the front end part of the front glass. A longitudinal direction, a vertical direction, and a widthwise direction of a vehicle body, which are employed in the present invention, are defined as those when a forward direction of a vehicle is oriented from a rear of the vehicle body on the basis of the forward direction in which the vehicle runs forward.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the related art, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2009-090787 discloses a cowl-top cover which is arranged across a lower end part of a front window panel, a front hood, and a dash panel, of a vehicle, wherein a sectional shape of a cowl panel is formed to be protruded forward so as to retain a rear end part of the front hood from underneath, and the front hood is retained via a sealing member fixedly provided at a tip end part of the cowl panel, for example.
However, in the above related art, if a vehicle bumps against a pedestrian or the like, the pedestrian or the like is pushed by the bumper, whereby an upper-body of the pedestrian or the like, in particular, his or her head part may bump against a rear end part of the front hood due to reaction. In this case, where the rear end part of the front hood is deformed and moves to a lower side due to an impact load having occurred to the rear end part of the front hood, the cowl panel retaining the rear end part of the front hood from underneath may become an obstruct. This has been a problem that remains unsolved conventionally.
In order to solve the above-described problem, the present invention provides a cowl-top cover, in which, if a rear end part of a front hood is deformed and moves to a lower side due to an impact load from above applied to the front hood, a cowl panel approaching the front hood never become rigid, and the load can be efficiently absorbed.
In addition, conventionally, a vehicle in which an engine room is arranged at a front part of the vehicle body allows a cowl-top cover to be provided between a front end part of a front glass and a rear end part of a front hood. The cowl-top cover is shaped to be extended over a vehicle widthwise direction; is adapted to cover between the front end part of the front glass and the rear end part of the front hood; and also functions as a decorative article or the like.
In other words, the cowl-top cover is adapted to close the inside of the engine room so as not to be visible from a driver's room. In addition, in order to prevent the entry of rainwater into the engine room, an engaging portion engaging with the front end part of the front glass is provided at the rear end part of the cowl-top cover, and a sealing member for sealing between the front end side and the rear end part of the front hood is provided at the front end side of the cowl-top cover.
The cowl-top cover is constructed by molding a material such as a synthetic resin, for example, and is constructed having a certain degree of rigidity. In particular, for a cowl-top cover constructed to be molded integrally with a cover main body portion from the rear end part to the front side of the cowl-top cover, the engaging portion engaging with the front end part of the front glass, requires the construction of the cover main body portion to have a certain degree of rigidity. On the other hand, the engaging portion engaging with the front end part of the front glass needs to have intimacy with the front glass, thus making it necessary to have a readily elastically deformable construction.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 8-119145 (hereinafter, referred to as “the related art document”) proposes a cowl-top garnish mounting structure, for example, as a cowl-top cover adapted to construct an engaging portion molded integrally with a cover main body portion to be readily elastically deformable. FIG. 12 shows a longitudinal cross section of essential parts of the cowl-top garnish mounting structure in the longitudinal direction of a vehicle body while the cowl-top garnish mounting structure described in the related art document is introduced as the related art in comparison with the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 12, a molded portion 43A molded integrally with a cowl-top garnish 41A (corresponding to a lip portion in an engaging portion in the present specification) is provided at a rear end part 41aA of the cowl-top garnish 41A (corresponding to a cowl-top cover in the present specification). The molded portion 43A is constructed in such a shape that the rear end part 41aA of the cowl-top garnish 41A is extended toward a windshield 42A (corresponding to a front glass in the present specification).
In addition, between the rear end part 41aA of the cowl-top garnish 41A and the molded portion 43A, a sectional V-shaped recessed portion 44A is formed so as to make the molded portion 43A readily elastically deformable. When the cowl-top garnish 41A is placed in the vehicle body, the molded portion 43A is constructed to be elastically deformed in a direction in which the letter V of the recessed portion 44A is narrowed, in abutment with the front end part 42aA of the windshield 42A.
According to the invention described in the related art document, a bending moment is applied to a V-shaped bottom part in the recessed portion 44A at the time of mounting the cowl-top garnish 41A, and the molded portion 43A is elastically deformed in the direction in which the letter V of the recessed portion 44A is narrowed. Therefore, referring to an action of stress at the V-shaped bottom part, a compressive stress acts on an inner face side at the V-shaped bottom part, and a pulling stress acts on an outer face side thereof.
If the synthetic resin constituting the molded portion 43A cannot bear up the compressive stress or pulling stress acting on the V-shaped bottom part, there occurs a whitening phenomenon that a resin whitens, and deformation of the molded portion 43A is likely to occur. However, the physical value of the synthetic resin is lowered by resin whitening.
According to the invention described in the related art document, the V-shaped recessed portion 44A can be narrowed and closed at the time of mounting the cowl-top garnish 41A, thus allowing a whitened portion, which is exerted by deformation of the molded portion 43A, to be invisible from the outside. Therefore, the invention described in the related art is capable of preventing impairment of the appearance around the cowl-top garnish 41A, which may occur due to the fact that the whitened portion is visible from the outside of the cowl-top garnish 41A.
The invention described in the related art document has an advantage that the V-shaped recessed portion 44A is narrowed and closed, thereby allowing the whitened portion to be invisible from the outside of the cowl-top garnish 41A. While the whitened portion allows the physical value of the synthetic resin to be lowered, a construction is provided in such a fashion so as to be able to check whether or not the whitened portion occurs at the recessed portion 44A from the outside of the cowl-top garnish 41A.
In respect of the recessed portion 44A formed between the cowl-top garnish 41A and the molded portion 43A, when the V-shaped recessed portion is not precisely formed due to any reason such as dispersion at the time of molding, even if the molded portion 43A is deformed in a direction in which the V-shaped recessed portion 44A is closed at the time of mounting the cowl-top garnish 41A, the V-shaped recessed portion 44A is never closed in a tight-fit state, and is closed in a state in which a gap occurs. Through the gap having occurred while it is not closed in the tight-fit state, a whitened portion at the recessed portion 44A is allowed to be visible from the outside, impairing the appearance of the cowl-top garnish 41A.
According to the invention described in the related art document, the molded portion 43A is formed in such a shape that the cowl-top garnish 41A is extended as it is, on the side of the windshield 42A. In addition, a sectional V-shaped recessed portion 44A is formed at a boundary between the rear end part of the cowl-top garnish 41A and the molded portion 43A. In other words, an extension face to the side of the windshield 42A on a top face of the cowl-top garnish 41A is constructed to become a top face of the molded portion 43A as it is.
With such a construction, the thickness at the molded portion 43A is shaped to be gradually reduced from the side of recessed portion 44A at the molded portion 43A to the side of windshield 42A. In other words, the thickness at the molded portion 43A is formed in the shape of thickness which is thick on the side of recessed portion 44A and thinner toward the side of windshield 42A. Therefore, the invention described in the related art document is characterized in that a depth at the V-shaped recessed portion 44A is substantially equal to the thickness of the molded portion 43A on the side of the recessed portion 44A.
At the time of elastic deformation in a direction in which the letter V of the recessed portion 44A is narrowed, in comparison with a construction in a case in which the V-shaped depth at the recessed portion 44A is small, a greater bending moment acts on a the bottom part at the V-shaped recessed portion 44A, in the one in a case where the V-shaped depth at the recessed portion 44A is large.
In the invention described in the related art document, the bottom part at the V-shaped recessed portion 44A is significantly bent, so that: a great stress acts on the V-shaped recessed portion 44A; and the whitened portion at the recessed portion 44A strongly appears. When the whitened portion strongly appears, at the recessed portion 44A, a resin-intrinsic physical value cannot be obtained, and in turn, a resilient force at the V-shaped recessed portion 44A lowers.
In the worst case, the V-shaped bottom part is cracked or broken, the V-shaped recessed portion 44A becomes a vulnerable site, and the strength of the molded portion 43A cannot be maintained.
In such a state, for example, in a case where a gap occurs between the molded portion 43A and the windshield 42A, the molded portion 43A cannot be restored in a direction in which such gap is eliminated, and in turn, a gap which is not closed exists as it is between the molded portion 43A and the windshield 42A. In addition, traceability of the molded portion 43A, attempting to maintain a state of intimate contact with the windshield 42A, is degraded.
Further, let us consider a virtual construction in which an identical bending load is applied to a rear end part and the side of the V-shaped side is fixed when a length from the V-shaped bottom to the rear end part of the molded portion 43A is identical, for example. In comparison with a construction in which the V-shaped depth at the recessed portion 44A is small, the amount of slackness at the rear end side of the molded portion 43A in this construction is smaller than that in which the V-shaped depth at the recessed portion 44A is large.
Therefore, in the invention described in the prior art document, in order to increase the amount of slackness at the rear end part side of the molded portion 43A for the sake of bringing into intimate contact with the windshield 42A, a significant pressing force must be applied to the rear end part side of the molded portion 43A. In addition, if the amount of slackness is small at the rear end part side of the molded portion 43A, a region of elastic deformation at the molded portion 43A is formed to be small.
As a result, the amount of deformation at the molded portion 43A significantly depends upon deformation at the V-shaped recessed portion 44A. Moreover, if it does, a stress acting on the recessed portion 44A increases, and in turn, whitening strongly appears at the recessed portion 44A.
The present invention aims to provide a cowl-top cover in which: when the cowl-top cover is installed between a front glass and a front hood, a region of elastic deformation at a lip portion in intimate contact with a front glass can be formed to be large; and when the lip portion is elastically deformed, a whitened site hardly appears at the cowl-top cover and the elastically deformed lip portion can be readily restored.